Cities and People

It's amazing how we form an opinion on a person based on where s/he's from. In India, in particular cities seem to have character and characteristics. And based on which city a friend likes, you can judge a lot about his/her character and what s/he enjoys the most in life.

Let's take the city of Bangalore. Once a sleepy pensioner's paradise, I would still rate it to have the best climate in the whole world. Good natured people are a natural consequence of such an ambience. Even people who come from outside love to absorb Bangalore into them and feel good about it. A long walk and feel like sipping a coffee, it takes 5 rupees and an idly to cool you off. English is understood and spoken by most residents. Nature is part of life - there are no air-conditioners and weekend getaways are plenty and interesting. So, a typical Bangalorean loves nature, loves the rain, loves his coffee! Bad roads and crazy traffic are just collateral damages of the unplanned expansion of the IT world into Bangalore.

Bombay. I have never lived in it. So all my opinion is based on perceptions and what I've heard from friends. Well, Bombay is hard working, work-hard, party hard kind of place. It has resilience and is mighty active. Food again is cheap and plenty. South or North Indian - any food is available. It's also the city of Bollywood. Plenty of action out there in terms theater. Again, rain is part of life and so is the train. The local trains carry people up and down from work places and the city just does not sleep! Weather's okay - I love humidity so it doesn't affect me much.

Delhi. Fast and furios. Agressive and brazen. New Delhi is an awesome place for checking out cinemas, monuments and is full of history. It's been a capital city of the sub-continent for centuries. But, it's populace is largely of refugee composition. Have fought their way up in life from harsh conditions of the partition and the aftermath. The landscape is a dull shrubbery and lots of dust in the air. There is a natural amount of SPM in the air! The city has extreme weather. With horrible summers and not-so horrible winters. Two months in the year are lievable! Overall, I'm a bit biased against this city - it's people seem loud and have started occupying the rest of the country with aggression.

Pondicherry! The word is a magic. Beautiful seashores, lovely beaches and warm people define this 'not-really-a-city'. But, I've lived in it for most of my life. The air is dense with water vapour - but love humidity. Life is slow paced and the landscpaes are occupied by kids playing cricket and basketball and football. Eating some french cuisine and visiting the serene places of the Ashram and Auroville are a pleasure. Like the Pondicherry tourism advertises, it's a place to 'Give time a break'.

Dallas. Resembles Delhi in landscape and climate. Big cars and fat texan dudes and a whole lot of George Bush worshippers. That's not much of a praise for the city. I hate flat landscapes. It's boring and all one can do is drive a few thousand miles to find the nearest green spot. Finding a tree is an achievement here. Shopping and watching TV is about the only thing one can do here. Desis in plenty in this Amru city! Overall, too much of an indoor place.

There's one other city I've lived in and I really hated every moment of it! Madras. Chennai. Horrible weather. This is the city where I hated humidity! Always thirsty. Always short of water. When it rains, it stinks. When doesn't, it still stinks. But I've always got along well with people from Chennai. English speaking. Philosophical. And I love the beach in Besant Nagar :). But it's main asset - it's only 160Kms to Pondicherry from there.